Holiness By Grace

Here's another work from the same field of grace as Bridges' Discipline of Grace.

Chapell, Bryan. Holiness By Grace. Crossway Books, 2003. 288 pages. ISBN 9781581344653

God loves to lift your head from an earthly perspective of weaknesses and stumbling to the vista of heaven where His love for you does not waver and His love quickens your steps, enlarges your heart, and lifts your hands to do His work.

The one word for this change in perspective from our load to His love is grace. And it is responsible for everything done well in the name of Christ. It is a many faceted word. In fact, Dr. Chapell will show you how God’s grace enables you to stop doing things in order to get things from God, since God is moved not by our deeds but by our cries for mercy. Next, you’ll see how grace unites you to Christ; in His death, as you die unto sin; and in His life, as you rise, live, and walk in His righteousness. Then you’ll see that repentance that sings in God, not groans in ourselves, is the first gift of grace. The second is a shield to resist the tempting power of evil in the world and our flesh. Next, you’ll see how grace unshackles us from the prisons of other’s standards and even our own standards, but then constrains us to love and serve according to His law of liberty. Then, as you are now unshackled, in God’s strength you will stand and fight against the evil one.

Having your head lifted from a man-centered Church, you’ll learn a deep appreciation for His gracious discipline which keeps us from loosing our way and from becoming prey for the evil one. Hearing the call to renew your mind by the mercies of God, you’ll recognize the universal motive to work in Christ’s church is not that you can become holy by working, but rather, because you already are by grace. Another motive to work with His hands comes through the awareness that your labors for the world are fleeting, but your labors for God are eternal. Finally, as He lifts your head, He shows you the many brothers and sisters who also depend on Him for their strength and life and who also work in His grace. Some of these have begun their work late in life; others have worked their whole lives in the kingdom. His grace is equally available to all and all have their own important role to play.

There is wonderfully rich and deep and precise writing on every page of this book! Every chapter is based on a satisfying exposition of a passage of Scripture. There are many excellent quotes from Reformed giants then and now, from Luther to Ferguson. And these things help to anchor the book in the long history of grace-emphasized movements in the Church. Some might say that churches which highly emphasize grace are the “come latelys” of Christendom. Dr. Chapell makes the point well that we are still reeling from the effects of the Fundmentalist/Modernist controversy which would unfortunately place the true Church somewhere between conservative (which legalistically seeks to earn God’s favor through works of the law) and liberal (which seeks to earn God’s favor through doing works of social justice). Dr. Chapell’s timely and searching call is that the true Church cannot be placed on this continuum at all. The true Church can only gain God’s favor by grace alone. And the book very effectively shows how grace is the central point of the entire Christian life, not just the beginning of it.

He may seem to backtrack a little here and there. The material from chapter one might have been included in chapter five, the material from chapter four may have been included in chapter six. But this is easily excused when one considers that these chapters may have been selected as much for their expositional foci as for their topical presentations. Moreover, he never repeats himself. I know because I hung on every word.

In a Church where some even now are forsaking the imputation of the righteousness of Christ and seeking to establish their own righteousness, this book offers healing advice. Dr. Bryan Chapell’s Holiness by Grace is a powerful wielding of the Sword of the Spirit.